something good
by professional-geek
Summary: what i think happens after the december finale.


**Usual disclaimers – I don't own R&I or the song lyrics. My advance view of what happens after the December season finale…since we've had some indication of a Rizzoli/Dean hook-up.**

Though she had no valid reason for it to be so, heading down to the morgue that morning felt somewhat like the walk of shame to Jane. No matter how many times she told herself that Gabriel Dean was a good man and that the night before had been… she sighed. It had been purely physical at least for her…a release of pent up sexual frustration. Not so much for Gabriel she suspected. She sighed again as she entered Maura's domain.

"Morning Maur," she greeted her friend, handing her a hot cup of coffee.

Maura looked up from the autopsy table and smiled, "Good morning Jane," she replied taking a sip from the cup.

Always one to be direct Jane didn't waste another breath before blurting out "IsleptwithGabriel," all in one seemingly rushed word.

Maura blinked as she took in the statement. In the time it took her to process what Jane said she felt an unfamiliar sensation in the pit of her stomach, an overwhelming wave of animosity toward Gabriel Dean and profound sadness. With a start she realized that what Shakespeare had referred to as 'the green ey'd monster' had risen fully formed within her. Faced with an emotion she had no time to analyze and was not equipped to handle Maura retreated to the relative safety of science.

"Well, studies have shown that the release of hormones from sexual intercourse orgasm can be beneficial in sleeping, pain relief and help calm you," she quoted, "and I think we've already discussed how compatible you and Agent Dean are."

Before Jane could respond, Maura glanced at the clock on the wall "Well, I really must get back this autopsy. Thanks for the coffee." She smiled again but the expression was merely a token social etiquette reaction and there was none of her usual affection behind it.

Hurt, worry and confusion flitted across Jane's face in quick succession. Whatever reaction she was expecting from Maura this was definitely not it. "Ohhh K, " she replied slowly holding her coffee cup in both hands for warmth, "Can we talk later?" There was a sad but hopeful tone in her voice.

"I have an exceptionally full schedule today," Maura said apologetically, "but I promise we can talk soon. Call me, OK?"

Jane left and trudged back upstairs purposefully avoiding the elevator. Her best friend had just brushed her off and she had no idea why. "She's always pushing me to get laid," she thought angrily, "and the second I do that she becomes distant. I don't get it!"

Maura methodically finished up the autopsy, refusing to allow any thoughts of her interaction with Jane to interfere with her work. At times like this she was grateful for her ability to become completely clinical. Finally the report was typed up. She dropped it into her out tray with a deep sigh and closed her office door. If required she would work late on the other autopsies but for right now Dr. Maura Isles needed to be alone for a while.

Back upstairs Jane grabbed another coffee and stomped to her desk. As she got there her cell phone rang. She groaned when she saw it was Gabriel. Although she was tempted to ignore him she knew this was something she would have to deal with and now was as good a time as any. "Rizzoli," she answered, not giving any indication to Frost or Korsak who was on the other end.

"Hi babe," Gabriel replied, "I was calling to see if we could do lunch today?" Jane found herself agreeing to the date – on some level she did find him attractive and given this morning's dealings with Maura spending time with someone who was falling over himself to be with her had a certain appeal.

Maura sat quietly in her office the only sound the low hum of her computer. Unlike most people she could be perfectly content without background noise. She found it helped her to focus better. Her earlier conversation and thoughts came back to her verbatim – the blessing and curse of an eidetic memory. Her visceral reaction to Jane's admission to sleeping with Gabriel Dean scared her. She had been pushing Jane to do this for months now – extolling the benefits of unattached sex – and after all it was something she did with ease herself.

After several minutes of soul-searching Maura came to the conclusion that her response was based on Jane's relationship with Gabriel not being an uncomplicated physical one but instead a complex emotional one. Jane was not the type of woman to have a peripheral involvement – she was passionate, caring and loving – traits that Maura had difficulty expressing in a relationship.

Maura let her mind consider what this would mean for their friendship – Jane and Gabriel would become a couple, do things together, perhaps even progress to marriage and children. She felt certain there would be no place for a 'BFF' in that arrangement and surely Gabriel wouldn't be happy allowing Jane to spend as much time as she currently did at her house; even given that Angela Rizzoli lived there.

With all the facts before her, Maura put her head in her hands already mourning the loss of her best friend.

Jane sat opposite Gabriel enjoying the burger she had selected for lunch. She was aware of him observing her as he ate his salad – the downside of being a detective she supposed – trying to figure out what his next move would be. The small talk had been, so far, decidedly awkward. The areas they had in common – Hoyt, police work and sex – were not really conducive to easy conversation and Jane found herself missing the camaraderie she had with Maura. She scowled briefly and chased that thought away, still mad at her friend's lack of willingness to discuss Gabriel. "I'll only be in town for one more day," Gabriel offered, "we could do dinner and…" he left the remainder of his comment open ended as if expecting Jane to assume that meant him spending the night again. Jane put her food down and looked at him. "Gabriel, last night was…great but I'm not sure I'm ready for a relationship," she said slowly and clearly, "especially not a long-distance one." She groaned inwardly as he quickly tried to hide the crestfallen look on his face. "I'm not saying no but please you have to let me figure this out on my own." Gabriel shrugged as if accepting her plea. "Alright Jane Rizzoli but I am not giving up on you…on us." For maybe the hundredth time Jane wondered what the hell it was that was broken in her when it came to relationships.

It had been a long, tiring and stressful day for Maura. She'd heard through the station gossip grapevine that Jane had gone to lunch with Gabriel and she had been busy with several autopsies to perform. She gladly changed out of her scrubs and made her way to the parking lot. Before long she had arrived home. Angela Rizzoli was in the kitchen. "Oh hello Maura," she said, "I was just bringing you these leftovers." Maura realized she was starving and gladly accepted the tasty home-made Italian food. "Did you hear that my Janie is dating that gorgeous FBI agent?" she asked Maura. It was obvious that Angela was on cloud 9 but instead of stars in her eyes there was wedding dresses and grandbabies. Maura acknowledged Angela's question with a nod of her head. "After all this time alone, I hope she doesn't scare him off." Angela continued. Maura paused eating for a moment to ask her house guest a question. "Angela did you ever have a best friend?" "Oh yes, Marissa Baggio," Angela replied. "We were close like you and Janie are. I haven't seen her in over 20 years though. After I met Frank we drifted apart. I was all ready to get married, settle down and have kids and she was more of a career woman." Maura listened to this with a heavy heart. It was what she had surmised earlier but it had far more of an impact coming from Angela's real-life experience. Angela was of course oblivious to Maura's pain. "Thanks for the food. I think I'm going to retire for the night," Maura said. "Alright, sweet dreams!" Angela replied and she headed for the door.

For once Maura felt glad that it was Friday night – she didn't want to be at work where she would have to face Jane. She made up her mind to have a movie marathon and mentally began making a list of the ones she planned to watch.

Jane sat in her apartment alone. She had already stripped her bed and was cross-legged on her couch nursing a beer. Gabriel had called twice since lunchtime – both had gone to voice mail. "So much for him respecting my wishes" she'd thought wryly. Her mood hadn't improved any after Frankie Jr jokingly told her their Ma was already picking out a wedding dress and making suggestions for baby names.

She very badly wanted to talk to Maura, to hear her voice and discuss Gabriel. That was what BFFs did, right? She pulled out her cell phone, scrolled down to Maura's name – something she had done several times that night – and then hit cancel again. Whatever was going on in Maura's head required a face-to-face conversation. She resolved to visit with her friend the next day.

Saturday dawned warm and sunny. Maura allowed herself the luxury of sleeping in – laying in her cozy cocoon of warmth made her feel secure, almost like…yes, almost like the few times Jane had slept over and invariably ended up with her arms wrapped around Maura. She finally arose, showered, dressed and ate a leisurely brunch. As she began to locate the movies she turned and looked at the couch wistfully. So many times Jane had been there for movie night, the two of them sitting close to each other despite the couch being roomy – Jane ragging her for the film she had picked out but always enjoying it in spite of herself. Sighing Maura finished her selection and put the first one into the blu-ray player – "Amelie". It was subtitled and quirky but it made her laugh and she adored the randomness of how the title character and her eventual boyfriend ended up together.

Jane slept fitfully her mind troubled by the potential relationship with Gabriel and her best friend's reaction to that. As a result she was tired and grumpy even after her first mid-morning coffee. Her thought process continued to be unsettled – like a yin that had lost its yang – and she finally realized that she was accustomed to bouncing her ideas, feelings and thoughts off Maura. As she got ready to head out – she needed some food and her apartment was sadly lacking – she decided to take an unannounced trip over to Maura's house post-late breakfast.

Maura sat on her couch with a half-empty box of Kleenex in her lap and tissues strewn around. The final credits for "Amelie" were scrolling up the flat screen TV. She sniffled and dabbed her eyes once again feeling both miserable and puzzled. The movie had never affected her in this way before but today for some unknown reason the last few scenes where the main characters happily found each other had made her sob uncontrollably. She rose and put in the next blu-ray – "Calamity Jane". Maura had always loved Doris Day and this movie quite nicely showcased her singing talents. She settled in as the first bars of the opening number began.

Jane finished up her brunch enjoying the final bite of pancake and syrup before swallowing the last of her coffee. She hurriedly left the diner and got in her car eager to head to Maura's house.

Maura had reached the part in "Calamity Jane" where Doris Day was about to sing "Secret Love". As the opening bars played she once again realized the tears were welling up in her eyes. Doris's sweet voice filled the room "Once I had a secret love that lived within the heart of me. All too soon my secret love became impatient to be free" Maura had to grab another tissue as she began to sob again.

The doorbell rang.

Jane stood outside Maura's house, feeling a little nervous but undeniably happy to be there. Maura opened the door slowly her face and eyes red from crying. "Jane," she said sounding surprised moving aside to allow her friend space to come in.

"Maura, you've been crying." Jane stated, "Is everything OK?"

Maura gestured toward the TV. "I've been watching some sentimental movies today," she explained "and for some reason it has negatively impacted my amygdala and lacrimal gland" she sniffed.

Jane glanced over and saw some blonde actress singing about her secret love. Inwardly she smiled. She would never admit it but she thought Maura's love of musicals was sweet. "A musical? Really?" she teased hoping to lighten Maura's mood.

A small smile twitched the corners of Maura's mouth "Yes, a musical," she admitted, "You know how I love them."

Jane sighed and shoved both hands into her pockets. "Maura, I came over to talk," she began, "I don't know what happened yesterday in the morgue but…I..you're my best friend and I need to know what's going on in that super genius head of yours."

The two sat on the couch and Maura turned off the movie before attempting to explain her logical progression of Jane and Gabriel's relationship. Jane listened carefully and then said "Maura, are you..umm…_jealous_ of Gabriel?" "I suppose in a way I am," Maura responded, "I do value your friendship very much and I would be distressed should anything happen to change that."

"No, I meant, oh never mind," Jane replied, realizing that Maura missed the implication of romantic jealousy versus friendship jealousy, "It's a moot point anyway. Gabriel and I…we're not dating. Well, I promised him I wasn't saying no outright but…" As she said this Jane knew she had no intention pursuing anything more than friendship with him.

"What?" Maura exclaimed, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her chest, "but..but..I thought…your mother said…you and he… I don't understand."

Jane sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "It's complicated Maura," she said finally, "I don't fully understand it myself. He's a good man and he wants more than just a one-night stand but…I…don't. I mean, the sex last night was…" she paused as she thought she saw a pained expression on Maura's face, "..are you ok with me talking about this?" Maura nodded "…it was a means to an end. I'm not proud of that and I know I led him on. I thought, you know, it was the right thing to do…I think Ma is getting to me with all her talk of me being a lonely old lady. What the hell is wrong with me?" She began rubbing the scars on her hands absentmindedly.

Maura recognized this action as a sign of distress and reached out to still Jane's hands with her own.

"Jane, there is nothing wrong with you," she said softly, "There is no shame in waiting for the right person to come long. I admire and envy you for that. Your capacity for love, passion and, yes, even your stubbornness," she laughed, "are extremely appealing. You need and deserve someone who is the perfect foil to that and no second best will do."

Jane smiled. As was always the case Maura's touch and words made her feel better.

"What if I've already met this person?" she asked, noticing that Maura was still holding her hands and seemed in no rush to relinquish them, "and they have been in and out of my life."

Maura tilted her head as she thought. "You are an incredibly talented detective," she said, "I find it hard to believe you wouldn't figure it out with ease."

"Matters of the head are one thing," Jane replied, "Matters of the heart are another altogether."

Maura remained silent, looking down at her hands and Jane's. She let her thumbs run over the scars inflicted by Hoyt, marveling once again at Jane's inner strength coupled with her inherent vulnerability. To her shock she started to weep again, big tear drops landing on their joined hands.

"Maura, what's wrong?" Jane asked. Maura shook her head, "I don't know," she responded, "I've been having these episodes ever since you told me about Gabriel….OH!" Maura's eyes widened as she replayed what she had just said. It was as if speaking the words aloud had finally allowed her brain to catch up to her emotional side. The jealousy, the crying, the movies she had chosen to watch, trying to shut Jane out…she had..she had.._romantic feelings_ for her best friend.

Jane watched the myriad of emotions run over Maura's face and said nothing. She simply folded Maura into her arms and allowed her to sob into her shirt. Maura sank into the embrace, relaxing into the warmth of Jane. She breathed in Jane's scent – the soap she used, the faint perfume of laundry detergent and the underlying smell of pheromones. This was safe. This was…home? What if…what If Jane was the one? Her one?

Jane took the opportunity the hug gave her to mull over what had just happened. Maura, it seemed, had more than just best friend feelings for her. It wasn't as if she hadn't been hit on by women before – and been sorely tempted a few times – but Maura? Really? As if her life wasn't complicated enough right now…

Reluctantly Maura broke the embrace and used a Kleenex to wipe her face. There was an awkward silence, then both women tried to talk at once. "You go first," Jane said.

Maura looked at Jane and squared her shoulders. It was the pose she struck when Jane teased her about being bossy – the Maura Isles version of being a bad ass. "Jane, I..there is no easy way to say this. I find myself attracted to you. I don't know why I didn't realize before – I imagine I was blocking it out because losing your friendship would devastate me – and your liaison with Gabriel must have forced my feelings to the surface. I can't lose you Jane so you have my promise that I won't act on them, really this doesn't need to be any more uncomfortable than it already is." She looked hopefully at her friend but despite the words that she had just uttered she found herself staring with a new outlook at Jane, taking in every curve and every angle. Her pulse began to race in response before she was able to look away. "i-I'm sorry Jane, it's a chemical reaction and oh God this isn't going to work, is it?"

Jane cleared her throat. "Look Maura, I don't want to lose our friendship any more than you do. It's not like this is the first time I've had another woman, umm, attracted to me."

"Wait, what, it's not?" Maura gasped.

Jane smiled. "You remember what happened to you when you wore my clothes? Yeah, that, ummm, occurs on a regular basis when I'm not with you."

"Oh. OH!" Maura responded. "I..have you ever…?"

Jane shook her head. "No, I never have. I have almost been…swayed a few times though."

"Really?" Maura said, "does that mean you wouldn't be opposed to..."

"Wait, wait," Jane responded, "this whole conversation is moving too fast and in a direction I didn't intend. But to answer your question, if it was the right woman, if she was the one I was supposed to spend forever with? Yes, I would consider it."

Maura was satisfied with Jane's answer.

"What I was _trying_ to say," Jane continued, "is that I'm not going to run screaming from you because of the way you feel. I don't know what's going to happen next but I'd like to try and stay friends. OK?"

Maura nodded.

"I'm glad we talked," Jane said, "I should probably get going though. I'm sure you have another musical movie to watch."

"No, wait," Maura replied, "don't go, please." Jane raised her eyebrows and said softly "Maura, I don't think that's such a good idea. We can't…_cuddle_…on the couch and watch movies like we used to. I don't want to lead you on or give you the wrong impression."

Maura looked strangely at Jane. "But we _always_ cuddle on the couch. Is that something that best friends normally do?" she asked. Jane sighed. She could already see where this was going. "Well, I..in most circumstances I guess not," she admitted.

"What about sleepovers," Maura questioned, "in the same bed?" Jane shook her head, "No, I..those are normally in separate beds."

"So would you say we have been engaging in activities that would not be considered best friend behavior?" Maura continued, "but that would be considered _couple_ behavior?"

"i..umm…well, I don't know," Jane mumbled, "I never really thought about it." She was becoming more uncomfortable by the second.

Maura thought for a minute and then smiled as she figured out a method to test her hypothesis.

"Kiss me Jane," she said. Jane's head jerked up and she started at Maura in disbelief. "W-what did you just say?" she asked.

"Kiss me," Maura repeated, "If your feelings for me are purely platonic it will be obvious." Jane licked her lips nervously. There was no faulting Maura's logic and there was no reason to believe it would mean anything and yet…

Jane leaned in and brushed a soft, chaste kiss over Maura's lips. She was sure the intention had been for her to _really_ kiss her but just that brief contact was like a jolt of electricity. Jane pulled back, trying desperately to keep calm.

"That was nice Jane," Maura said, "but I meant something a little more like this." She pulled Jane to her, pressing her lips hard against her. Of their own volition Jane's lips parted and she responded in kind until the warning voice in her head was finally loud enough to hear through the cloud of desire that had enveloped her and she was able to break the kiss.

Jane stared at Maura in stunned silence. Whatever outcome she had expected from the kiss – this was not it. She opened and closed her mouth trying to find the words and failing. Instead she swallowed over a suddenly dry throat and drank in Maura as if seeing her for the first time.

Maura's heart thundered in her ears. She stared right back at Jane. In all her previous sexual encounters she had never been this..this.._turned on_ before…and from a simple kiss! It was as if every nerve ending in her body was electrified. But beyond all of that, Jane had kissed her back!

After what seemed like an eternity, Jane was finally able to speak. "Maura, I..you…what the hell just happened?"

Maura, as always, replied with the obvious. "I kissed you. You kissed me back. I enjoyed it…immensely. You now appear to be having an epiphany moment similar to the one I had earlier."

Jane rolled her eyes, "Yeah, thanks."

"You enjoyed the kiss too, didn't you?" Maura asked softly, realizing Jane was reluctant to talk about it and that her previous question had been intended to be rhetorical.

"I'd say that was the biggest understatement this side of the Atlantic Ocean," Jane responded, "Shit Maura, I had no idea. How in the hell could I have had no idea?"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Maura asked, "We definitely don't have to if you'd rather not."

Jane looked into Maura's eyes "Oh I think we _have_ to talk about it," she replied, "this isn't something we can ignore."

"I believe the reason why neither of us realized we were attracted to each other, " Maura began, "is due to neither of us looking for it. My…lack of a best friend in my formative years prevented me from thinking cuddling on the couch or sleepovers in the same bed were indicative of something more and you…just…I think you feel safe with me. You know I care for you with no expectations besides your friendship. I've noticed you find it hard to fully relax around other people."

"And you didn't say anything because you had no clue that our actions were weird." Jane sighed. "Where do we go from here?" she asked.

Maura smiled "I would very much like us to engage in a romantic relationship."

Jane smiled back "You want us to date?" she translated.

Maura felt sure their level of "togetherness" could already be considered as dating but she knew Jane wasn't about to acknowledge such a suggestion.

"Yes. You indicated before that you would be amenable to that should you meet the right woman." She replied.

"Are you…are we ready for that?" Jane asked, "It's been a topic of discussion since I became a police officer – 'Rizzoli the dyke'. I'm sure more than half the precinct thinks we are together anyway."

Maura looked away and began talking again. "Jane, do you remember what I told you earlier about waiting for the right person to come along? I had despaired of ever meeting that person. Ian…Ian was an image of who I though the love of my life should be – I realized after he left that I had been lying to myself all those years. I certainly never imagined my best friend could be 'the one' and I'm not going to run and hide because of a few misplaced rumors. You need to know that one simple kiss made me feel more alive than _any_ of my previous liaisons. Of course I will respect your decision if you choose to walk away."

There was a catch in Maura's voice as she spoke the last sentence.

"I have no intention of walking away. Not now, not ever," Jane responded, "I don't want to lose you but in the space of a couple of days I've gone from thinking I wanted a relationship with Gabriel to kissing you and having my world turned _so_ upside down."

She touched her fingers to her lips. "and that was one amazing kiss."

"Are you saying yes?" Maura asked.

"Yes, I am saying yes Maura," Jane replied, "as long as we take it slow."

Maura pouted. "Oh, does that mean I'm not allowed to throw you down and ravish you?" she asked with a definite twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

Jane smiled back, "While that does have a certain appeal," she replied, "I'm going to have to say no."

Maura sighed.

"That doesn't prevent us from cuddling on the couch," Jane said, "I heard a rumor you wanted to watch a movie."

Maura smiled, rose from the couch and quickly put in the dvd. She sat back down next to Jane snuggling up next to her as Jane put her arm around her shoulders.

"The Sound of Music? Really?" Jane teased.

"This is a classic Oscar winning movie full of wonderful songs and it's based on the true story of the Von Trapp family," Maura replied, "I'm sure you will enjoy it."

The two women sat in contented silence on the couch as the movie played – holding hands, fingers intertwined. When the scene started where Captain Von Trapp realizes he loves Maria and not the Baroness, Maura gave a happy sigh. "I love this part," she said, "It's so romantic. Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews play it so perfectly." Jane gave her a little squeeze.

The dialogue ended and the opening notes of "Something Good" began. For once Jane found herself really listening to the lyrics of the song. "Maura must be a bad influence," she thought with a smile.

"…for here you are standing there loving me

Whether or not you should

So somewhere in my youth or childhood

I must have done something good…"

To her surprise she felt tears welling in her eyes. "I wonder what 'something good' I did to deserve you," she whispered softly.

Maura turned to look at her "We belong together Jane," she replied before capturing her lips in another searing kiss.

As the embrace ended Jane murmured "You are always right Maura. We do belong together."

**Reviews welcome as always!**


End file.
